Jacks open Summit play at Western Illinois

Saturday, March 16

Springfield, Ill.

noon

South Dakota State University

Western Illinois

Photo by: Mike Janes/Four Seam Images

3/13/2019 2:22:00 PM | Baseball

Game 16-18: South Dakota State (7-8 overall, 0-0 Summit League) at Western Illinois

When	Friday, March 15 • 3 p.m. \| Saturday, March 16 • 1 p.m. \| Sunday, March 17 • 1 p.m.
Where	Alfred D. Boyer Stadium \| Macomb, Illinois
TV	None
Radio	None
Live Stats	GoLeathernecks.com
Game Notes	South Dakota State \| Western Illinois \| The Summit League
Social Media	Twitter \| Instagram \| #RAB5

The South Dakota State University baseball team is scheduled to open Summit League play this weekend with a three-game series at Western Illinois.

The series opener is set for a 3 p.m. first pitch Friday afternoon at Alfred D. Boyer Stadium in Macomb, Illinois. The two squads are then slated to play 1 p.m. games both Saturday and Sunday.

Live stats of this weekend's games can be accessed through GoLeathernecks.com.

The Jackrabbits enter the weekend with a 7-8 overall record after splitting their eight-game Spring Break road trip. SDSU won two of three games in the first leg of its trip, defeating Missouri and splitting a two-game set against Central Arkansas. After falling in extra innings at Alabama on March 6, the Jackrabbits wrapped up the trip by splitting a four-game weekend series at UA Little Rock.

Western Illinois holds a 4-9 record through games played March 12. The Leathernecks were scheduled to complete a two-game series at Arkansas Wednesday afternoon after dropping the opener against the 2018 College World Series finalists, 8-0, Tuesday night.

THE SERIES: Friday's series opener will mark the 56th meeting on the baseball diamond between South Dakota State and Western Illinois. The Jackrabbits hold a 32-23 advantage in the series that dates back to 2006.

SDSU won the season series in 2018 three games to two. The Jackrabbits won the lone game played between the two squads in Macomb last season, posting a 6-3, 12-inning victory on March 24. The two other scheduled games in the series were canceled due to inclement weather.

The Jackrabbits hosted Western Illinois for a three-game series May 11-13 at Erv Huether Field. The Leathernecks claimed the opener, 4-3, in 11 innings and took the series with a 9-6 victory two days later. SDSU's lone win in the home series was a 13-7 victory in the middle game and was highlighted by a two-home run performance by Anthony Schneider.

SDSU sealed the season series by defeating Western Illinois, 8-4, in an elimination game at the Summit League Baseball Championship May 24 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Schneider and Tony Kjolsing set the tone by hitting back-to-back home runs to lead off the bottom of the first inning and Korey Kuhlmann and Tyler Olmstead combined for eight strong innings out of the bullpen. The Jackrabbits eventually reached the title game at the Summit championship.

LAST WEEK: Following are some highlights from last week's game at Alabama (March 6) and four-game series at UA Little Rock (March 8-10):

SDSU used 10 pitchers in its 14-inning game at Alabama.
The Jacks rallied for three runs in the top of the ninth to force extra innings at Alabama.
Logan Holtz extended his hitting streak to 10 games. It is the longest hitting streak by a Jackrabbit player since Nick Smith hit safely in 14 consecutive games last season (March 17-April 28).
Holtz has reached base safely in all 14 games in which he has played this season.
Landon Badger doubled twice in the March 9 doubleheader opener, giving him a team-leading six two-base hits on the season.
Freshman Nic McCay turned in the longest outing by a Jackrabbit pitcher this season as he logged 7 2/3 innings in the March 10 series finale at UA Little Rock. McCay retired eight in a row at one point and carried a shutout into the sixth inning.
Fellow freshman Luke Ira doubled and tripled in March 10 series finale at UA Little Rock.

STEIGER HONORED: South Dakota State shortstop Gus Steiger was honored March 11 as Summit League Player of the Week in helping lead the Jackrabbits to a pair of victories on the back half of their Spring Break trip.

A sophomore from Minnetonka, Minnesota, Steiger went 11-for-27 (.407 batting average) over five games with three doubles, four runs scored and six runs batted in. He tallied multiple hits in the first four contests of the week, starting with a two-hit effort in an extra-innings loss March 6 at Alabama. He followed that outing with the first four-hit performance by a Jackrabbit this season and collected two RBIs in a March 9 series opener at UA Little Rock.

By hitting safely in all five games, Steiger extended his hitting streak to seven games. He also stole three bases during the week and did not commit an error in 28 total defensive chances.

Steiger is the second Jackrabbit in as many weeks to be named Summit League Player of the Week, joining outfielder Logan Holtz, who received the honor March 4.

A CALL TO ARMS: South Dakota State pitchers combined to strike out 34 UT Martin batters in 26 innings and post a 2.42 team earned run average during their season-opening three-game series.

Brady Stover led the way with nine strikeouts over five innings in the Feb. 15 season opener, while freshman Nic McCay posted eight strikeouts in five innings during his collegiate debut Feb. 17.

Tyler Olmstead matched the team season high of nine strikeouts in six innings of a Feb. 23 start against Florida International that resulted in a no-decision. Olmstead has fanned a team-best 24 batters in 19 innings so far this season.
SDSU has received at least five innings from its starting pitchers in nine of 15 games so far this season.

Jackrabbit relievers also made strong contributions during the current Spring Break trip. In three games between March 2 and 3, six pitchers combined to throw 12 innings out of the bullpen without allowing an earned run. Brett Mogen did not allow an earned run over four innings in a March 1 relief appearance at Central Arkansas, while Cody Carlson pitched 3 1/3 shutout innings to earn the save March 2 against Missouri. Bret Barnett blanked UCA over two innings to earn the win in relief later that same day.

Against Alabama on March 6, nine Jackrabbit relievers combined to pitch the final 11 1/3 innings of a 14-inning game, allowing three runs while striking out six and walking three. Drew Beazley pitched two scoreless innings in the eighth and ninth, while fellow freshman Riley McSherry blanked Alabama for three frames before giving up the game-winning run in the bottom of the 14th.

Barnett added one inning of scoreless relief against Alabama. Barnett has allowed only one run in 9 1/3 innings over six relief appearances so far this season. He shares the team lead with two victories and recorded his first career save in the March 10 series finale at UA Little Rock.

FROOM MAKES COMEBACK: Ryan Froom completed the long road back from injury by making his first appearance in nearly two years in the Feb. 16 game against UT Martin.

A sixth-year senior, Froom struck out five, walked four and surrendered three hits over five innings in finishing with a no-decision. It marked Froom's appearance since March 25, 2017, at Oral Roberts, when he suffered an arm injury. He missed the remainder of the 2017 season and was granted an injury hardship. Froom also sat out the entire 2018 campaign before rejoining the team this past fall.

Froom got back into the win column March 2 as the Jackrabbits knocked off Missouri, 6-3. After giving up a run in the bottom of the first, Froom pitched four consecutive shutout frames before tiring in the sixth. He finished with a season-high six strikeouts, while allowing three runs on four hits with five walks in 5 2/3 innings.

He again recorded the victory in the second game of a March 9 doubleheader at UA Little Rock, going seven innings. He allowed three runs on seven hits while striking out five and walking four.

The Crystal, Minnesota, native was a mainstay in the Jackrabbit rotation starting with his sophomore season in 2015. He currently ranks in a tie for fifth place in program history with 38 games started and also enters the week in sixth place on the SDSU career charts with 214 1/3 innings pitched.

POWER SURGE, POWER OUTAGE: Through their first 15 games of the 2019 season, the Jackrabbits have out-homered the opposition, 10-8, highlighted by a three-home run performance in the Feb. 15 opener against UT?Martin.
Eight different players have accounted for the Jackrabbit home runs, with Braeden Brown and Logan Holtz leading the squad with two each.

Holtz and Ryan McDonald connected on back-to-back homers in the fifth inning of a Feb. 16 game against UT?Martin. It was the first career home run for each and marked the second time in five games dating back to last season that the Jackrabbits hit consecutive home runs. Anthony Schneider and Tony Kjolsing led off a May 24 Summit League Baseball Championship game against Western Illinois with back-to-back homers.

SDSU's 10 home runs came in the team's first six contests. The Jackrabbits have not hit a long ball in their last nine games, marking their longest drought in that category since early in the 2016 season.

YOUTH MOVEMENT: Four first-year players filled spots in the starting lineup in the Jackrabbits' Feb. 16 game against UT Martin. Drew Beazley batted out of the leadoff spot as the designated hitter, while Luke Ira (third base), Ryan McDonald (catcher) and Jamie Berg (center field) also were on the lineup card. McDonald led SDSU at the plate by going 2-for-4 with a home run.

Ira, who has started all 15 games, is tied for second on the team with six extra base hits, while posting a .284 batting average and a .433 slugging percentage. He has recorded a hit in 10 games, including a sharing the team lead with eight multi-hit performances.

PRESEASON POLL: South Dakota State has been picked to finish second in the upcoming Summit League baseball race, according to a poll conducted among conference coaches that was announced Feb. 7 by league officials.

The Jackrabbits received one first-place vote, finishing with 21 points. Defending league champion Oral Roberts again paced the six-team race with five first-place votes and 25 points. North Dakota State completed the upper half of the poll with 17 points.

Rounding out the poll were: Western Illinois, 12 points; Omaha, 9 points, and Purdue Fort Wayne, 6 points.

The top four teams during the regular season will advance to the 2019 Summit League Baseball Championship, which is scheduled for May 22-25 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

In addition, the Jackrabbits' Nick Smith and Brady Stover were recognized among the Summit League's top players to watch.

A two-time all-Summit League honoree, Smith has posted a batting average of better than .300 each of the past two seasons. Smith, a senior from Chanhassen, Minnesota, hit at a .303 clip with 18 runs batted in en route to first-team honors as a utility player in 2018.

Stover, a junior from Huxley, Iowa, posted a 3-2 record in 2018 with a 4.57 earned run average in 10 appearances, including nine starts. The left-hander struck out 63 batters in only 43.1 innings, setting an SDSU single-season record with an average of 13.09 strikeouts per nine innings. He also limited the opposition to a .203 batting average.

COACH BISHOP: Rob Bishop, who has guided college baseball teams to 600 career victories, was named head baseball coach at South Dakota State University on Aug. 1, 2016. Bishop is the ninth head coach in program history and the fourth in the Division I era.

Now in his third season with the Jackrabbits, Bishop holds a 51-64 record at SDSU. In his first season, Bishop's 2017 squad returned to the winning side of the ledger with a 26-24 overall mark, including an 18-12 record for a third-place finish in The Summit League standings. SDSU won its opening-round game in the Summit League Baseball Championship, 6-5, over second-seeded North Dakota State.

In 2018, SDSU overcame a slow start to post a winning record in Summit League play at 14-13 and went on to reach the title game of the Summit League Baseball Championship. The Jackrabbits finished with an 18-32 overall record during a campaign in which they played only six home games.

Overall, Bishop holds a 600-386-1 record (.608 winning percentage) as a collegiate head coach. He recorded career win No. 600 March 10 at UA Little Rock.

Individually, Jackrabbit players have been honored as all-Summit League performers 10 times during his brief tenure, including six all-league selections in 2018. Utility player Nick Smith and third baseman Newt Johnson received all-Summit League recognition in both 2017 and 2018.

Prior to becoming head coach at SDSU, Bishop spent six years at NCAA Division II member Montana State University-Billings, where he led the Yellowjackets to back-to-back Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular season titles in 2015 and 2016, attaining the program's first-ever 30-win season with a 30-20 record in 2016. His squads also were honored as the top academic team in the GNAC each of his last three seasons.

Previously, Bishop spent 10 years at Miles City Community College in Montana, where his teams won MonDak conference championships every year. His squads also claimed five consecutive junior college region titles and a Northwest District championship in 2007 to advance to the NJCAA Division II College World Series. Bishop's teams won at least 30 games each of his 10 seasons, including four 40-win seasons. He ended his tenure at Miles City with a 377-151 overall record. He also served as athletic director his last five years at Miles City.

Bishop served as a graduate assistant at SDSU under head coach Mark Ekeland during the 1998 and 1999 seasons. In his first season as a head coach, Bishop led Huron University to the South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference title in 2000 with a 38-18 record.

A 1994 graduate of Jamestown College, Bishop earned NAIA All-America honors during the 1992 and 1994 seasons as an infielder.

THE ROSTER: The 2019 SDSU baseball roster features 33 players from seven different states and one Canadian province. Of the 33 players, 11 are from Iowa, nine are from South Dakota and eight hail from Minnesota. Arizona, Nebraska, Washington and Wisconsin are represented by one player each, as is Manitoba.

By class, 10 are seniors, nine are juniors, five are sophomores, two are redshirt freshmen and seven are incoming freshmen.

A LOOK AHEAD: The Jackrabbits have a mid-week game scheduled for March 20 at Creighton before resuming Summit League action March 22-24 at Oral Roberts.

First pitch for the Creighton matchup is 6:30 p.m. at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska.

-GoJacks.com-